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Eldon Hill is a limestone hill in Derbyshire, England. It has a large quarry on it's NW side and a natural pothole just to the south of it's peak. It also has the remains of lead mines scattered across it.

The image below (from this location on Google Maps) shows a number of horizontal, linear bands (marked with yellow arrows) of what appear to be indentations in the ground running across the surface of the hill for a distance of ~300m each. What are they, and how were they formed?

Eldon Hill, Derbyshire

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2 Answers 2

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These are marked up on the British Geological Survey's mapping as mineral veins cutting through the limestones, and in the associated memoir as sulphide ore veins. The surface expression that shows on the imagery is likely the remains of shallow mining and pits exploring or exploiting the ores.

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    $\begingroup$ That is a very cool website that you linked to! I'll wander up there when it stops raining and take a look. $\endgroup$
    – DrMcCleod
    Sep 30, 2022 at 16:41
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To complete Andy's answer: A History and Gazetteer of the Mines in the Liberty of Peak Forest, Derbyshire, (Heathcote, 2001), published in the bulletin of the Peak District Mines Historical Society. The area of Eldon Hill is shown on figure 5. The three veins marked on your image are, from North to South:

  • Eldon Bent Vein
  • Burning Drake Vein
  • Wrangling Rake

Details about these veins can be found at pages 9$-$10. Basically, those features are the surface expression of ancient lead mining activities in the area.

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